Dozens of Palestinians were killed on Monday, when Israeli soldiers fired on them as they attacked the Israeli border around Gaza. But while this loss of life is tragic, the Israeli Defense Forces had little choice but to use lethal force here.
The challenge is that Hamas forces Israel’s hand in threatening Israeli citizens and mitigating the efficacy of less lethal Israeli defensive measures.
While the Israelis do employ tear gas and baton rounds in an attempt to disperse and drive back protesters, those weapons alone are not sufficient to disperse thousands of people spread across a comparatively large open area. Israeli soldiers face a lethal threat from the many Palestinian protesters who employ sling shots and improvised incendiary devices against them. Israeli commanders have a terrible responsibility in balancing the protection of their force with avoiding civilian casualties.
And although Hamas has a strategic interest in seeing Palestinian bodies filled with Israeli bullets, Hamas’ tactical sophistication is decisively underestimated by most observers. The television images of Palestinians being wounded while protesting belie the fact that a coordinated Hamas operation is underway behind the scenes.
Consider that during the border clashes, Hamas ground commanders maintain a command structure that allows them to rapidly move crowds into different positions and to conceal fighters behind those crowds and burning tires (large numbers of Hamas fighters typically disguise themselves as rock throwing civilians). Moreover, Hamas pushes teenage boys, children and women toward the front of the crowd, knowing that their deaths will generate more negative media coverage toward Israel. The AFP video footage below gives a good insight into all these tactics.
At a distance, Hamas sniper teams also attempt to pin down and kill IDF soldiers. Hamas tactics here are not focused solely on killing soldiers, but also on provoking IDF personnel to excessive retaliation. And sometimes they succeed.
Ultimately, from Israel’s perspective there are two critical rationales for using lethal force: protecting the border and establishing strategic deterrence. The Israelis know that if Palestinian protesters are allowed to reach the border, they will be emboldened to do so even more aggressively in the future. The IDF will thus do whatever is necessary to prevent that outcome and Hamas will thus smile amid the bodies of its fellow citizens.
